The Bishop of London has spoken of her concerns for the most vulnerable, as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons by a narrow margin on Friday.
In a statement on the Church of England’s website, Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullaly who is a former Chief Nursing Officer and now the Church of England’s lead bishop for health and social care, said there was “mounting evidence” that the bill “is unworkable and unsafe and poses a risk to the most vulnerable people in our society.”
Bishop Sarah went on to urge peers to oppose the assisted dying bill when it goes to the House of Lords for scrutiny:
“If enacted, this legislation would come into force amid serious shortfalls in adult social care, a post code lottery in palliative care and well documented pressures on the NHS, multiplying the potential risks to the most vulnerable. It does not prevent terminally ill people who perceive themselves to be a burden to their families and friends from choosing ‘assisted dying. And it would mean that we became a society where the state fully funds a service for terminally ill people to end their own lives but shockingly only funds around one third of palliative care.
“Every person is of immeasurable and irreducible value, and should be able to access the care and support that they need – a principle that I know is shared by those all faiths and none.
“We must oppose a law that puts the vulnerable at risk and instead work to improve funding and access to desperately needed palliative care services.”
The bill, which would allow terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to get medical assistance to end their own lives, passed by just 23 votes. 314 MPs voted for the bill with 291 against.
Many MPs who had previously voted for the bill in November changed their mind, meaning the bill’s margin of support halved. Over the last few months, organisations including The Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of Physicians, Association for Palliative Medicine and Disability Rights UK raised the alarm over what they said was a lack of safeguards and scrutiny around the bill which was proposed by the MP Kim Leadbeater.
The bill will now pass through the House of Lords, before being passed back to MPs who will look at any changes suggested by peers. The bill would then become law unless it’s blocked by peers or runs out of Parliamentary time.